Why is there so much ugly public art these days? And why it...
The Culturist@the_culturist_
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Apr 14, 2024
~3 min read
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Why is there so much ugly public art these days?
And why it matters... (thread) 🧵
And why it matters... (thread) 🧵
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Last year, this grotesque metal statue was unveiled in Boston — to the bemusement of taxpayers who had unwittingly contributed to its $10m budget…
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And this fountain was erected in Vienna: a mockery of a city known for its elegant fountains that celebrate its nourishing spring water supply.
So why does this keep happening everywhere?
So why does this keep happening everywhere?
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It isn't just a question of artistic taste, or how "modern" this art should attempt to be. It has more to do with its purpose in the first place.
At its best, public art reflects a people's shared set of values back at them — expressions of a shared humanity.
At its best, public art reflects a people's shared set of values back at them — expressions of a shared humanity.
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In England for example, public spaces were once adorned with statues, murals, and shrines of Mary and the saints. The whole country shared a vibrant visual culture rooted in its common religious faith.
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The turning point is often blamed on Cromwell and the Reformers, who systematically obliterated religious art in the Middle Ages. Some 97% of English art was destroyed by the iconoclasts.
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This was a huge reason that the shared vision for beautiful public spaces was lost.
But there was a bigger one: the rise of artists...
But there was a bigger one: the rise of artists...
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The Renaissance saw individual artistic expression take art beyond works of mainly religious devotion. Masters like Michelangelo went against the grain to express their artistry, and test the limits of their skill.
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Church leaders weren't happy, for example, with the level of nudity in Michelangelo's altarpiece, The Last Judgment...
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So art offended people then too, but Renaissance societies were bound by a common ideal: that art should elevate man to his highest point.
Every public commission expressed the faith, and uplifting humanism, of the era.
Every public commission expressed the faith, and uplifting humanism, of the era.
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David was initially a piece of public art, commissioned to adorn the roofline of Florence Cathedral. When he carved it, Michelangelo was exploring what man (at his best) can be — knowing that Florentines would find inspiration in it every time they passed by.
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Renaissance humanism came to an end, so humanity found new forms of expression, and not always religious. Rodin's sculptures were secular explorations of the fragile human condition — but they still found a universal humanity, creating public art that honored brave men:
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Modern day artists have their own artistic ambitions, but without the shared ideals that once inspired great art. Public sculptures have become purely expressions of selfish artistry — they say "look at me" and not much else.
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Authorities might think they are doing a public good when they throw taxpayer funds at these. They're actually just funding vanity art that's more about making the artist's name than improving public life.
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All this matters because beautiful public spaces breed pride in community, and ugly ones breed contempt. Why respect your community if it doesn't respect you?
A city in England once spent public funds to put a dumpster with neon lights in a charming square...
A city in England once spent public funds to put a dumpster with neon lights in a charming square...
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Ugly public art demoralizes us because it is in some sense anti-human. It certainly doesn't come from that worldview centered on the importance of humanity that inspired the Trevi Fountain...
